1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a primer set capable of amplifying in common a target sequence found in 10 bacterial species related to respiratory diseases, and to oligonucleotides specific to each target sequence of 10 bacterial species.
2. Description of the Related Art
Numerous conventional probes for detecting viruses related to respiratory diseases have been disclosed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,654 discloses hybridization assay probes for Haemophilus influenzae which are comprised of an oligonucleotide of 14 to 18 nucleotides. U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,718 discloses oligonucleotides selectively hybridizable with a specific gene (e.g., entE) of Staphylococcus aureus. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 6,001,564 discloses primers or probes specific to each of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermis, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis. 
In the conventional example provided above, a primer set capable of amplifying a target sequence common to all 10 bacterial species known to be related to respiratory diseases has not been disclosed. Also, a probe specific for each target sequence of these bacterial species has not been disclosed.